Discovery and synthesis of new immunosuppressive alkaloids from the stem of Fissistigma oldhamii (Hemsl.) Merr

Three new alkaloids (1-3) and twenty-one known compounds were isolated from the stem of Fissistigma oldhamii (Hemsl.) Merr. which was the ruler herb in an approved Traditional Chinese herbal formula used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in China and synthesis of one new immunosuppressive alkaloid was achieved. These compounds, including the crude extracts of this herb, exhibited strong activities in the inhibition of T and B cell proliferation.     

Isolation of chlorogenic acids and their derivatives from Stemona japonica by preparative HPLC and evaluation of their anti-AIV (H5N1) activity in vitro

Two chlorogenic acids and five chlorogenic acid derivatives were simultaneously separated and purified from Stemona japonica by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Five of the collected compounds were over 95% pure while the other two compounds were over 90% pure. Their structures were elucidated as 3-O-feruloylquinic acid (1), 4-O-feruloylquinic acid (2), methyl 3-O-feruloylquinate (3), methyl 5-O-caffeyolquinate (4), methyl 4-O-feruloylquinate (5), ethyl 3-O-feruloylquinate (6) and the new compound ethyl 4-O-feruloylquinate (7) by UV, NMR and ESI-MS. All compounds were obtained from Stemona species for the first time, however compounds 6 and 7 are believed to be artefacts from the ethanol extraction. The anti-AIV (H5N1) activities were evaluated by Neutral Red uptake assay. Compounds 3 and 4 exerted moderate inhibitory effect against AIV (H5N1) in vitro.     

Structure elucidation and sulfated derivatives preparation of two alpha-D-glucans from Gastrodia elata Bl. and their anti-dengue virus bioactivities

The structures of two glucans, WGEW and AGEW, isolated from Gastrodia elata Bl. were elucidated using monosaccharide composition analysis by gas chromatography (GC), methylation analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Their structures were deduced as an alpha-D-(1-->4)-glucan with an alpha-(1-->4) linked branch attached to O-6 branch points with different branch degrees. Their sulfate derivatives with distinct degrees of substitution (DS) were prepared. The substitution position was assigned to O-6 according to the (13)C NMR spectra. All sulfated derivatives showed strong anti-dengue virus bioactivities. The structure-activity relationships (SAR) between the polysaccharides and their sulfated derivatives were also investigated. Results showed that the higher the DS is, the more potent the impact on the dengue virus infection would be.     

Unusual duplex formation in purine rich oligodeoxyribonucleotides

The purine rich oligodeoxyribonucleotides 1C, d(ATGACGGAATA) and 2C, d(ATGAGCGAATA) alone exhibit highly cooperative melting transitions. Analysis of the concentration dependence of melting, and electrophoretic studies indicate that these oligomers can form an unusual purine rich offset double helix. The unusual duplex is predicted to contain four A.T, two G.C, and four G.A mismatch base pairs as well as a single A base stacked on the 3' end of each chain of the helix. Other possible models for the duplex are unlikely because they are predicted to contain many base pairs of low stability. Changing the central sequence to CGG or GGG should destabilize the duplex and this is observed. The unusual duplex of 2C is more stable than the duplex of 1C indicating that the stability of G.A base pairs is quite sensitive to the surrounding sequence. Addition of 1C and 2C to their complementary pyrimidine strands results in normal duplexes of similar stability. We feel that the unusual duplexes are significantly stabilized by the intrinsic stacking tendency of purine bases.     

三齿草藤(Vicia bungei Ohwi)凝集素糖组分的高效液相色谱分析

本文报道经亲和层析纯化的三齿草藤凝集素(VBL)的糖含量和糖组分的测定结果。经酚-硫酸法测得VBL的总糖含量为4.7％。应用高效液相色谱法对一系列已知标准单糖的定性定量分析条件进行了探索,选用乙腈-水-甲醇=60:30:5体系作流动相,YWG-NH_2作固定相,在高效液相色谱仪中测出VBL含有核糖和鼠李糖,二者摩尔数之比为9.4:1。     

乙型肝炎病毒核心抗原(HBcAg)高表达质粒的构建

我们利用了外切酶剪切,人工接头平端连接等DNA重组技术将HBcAg基因片段插入乳糖启动子下游的β-半乳糖苷酶结构基因中,获得了能高效表达HBcAg的重组质粒。ELISA方法检测表明,转化的大肠杆菌每毫升培养物含一万酶联免疫反应单位。     

PCR-寻靶体系构建棒状链霉菌lat基因插入突变的重组质粒pELA

本实验将PCR所得的1.8kb的lat基因片段插入到pUCm-T载体的多克隆位点,得到重组质粒pUCm-T-lat,经EcoRI-HindⅢ双酶切后得到lat基因片段,与经同样双酶切的穿梭质粒pGH112进行连接,得到重组质粒pGH112-lat。将其电转至大肠杆菌E.coli BW25113/pIJ790中得到E.coli BW25113/pIJ790/pGH112-lat。同时,根据棒状链霉菌lat基因的序列及质粒pIJ77(3 pIJ773为可提供阿泊拉抗性的模板质粒)中阿泊拉抗性基因(aac(3)iv)的序列设计一对长59nt及58nt的引物,两引物分别含有20nt及19nt的阿泊拉抗性基因的互补序列和39nt的lat基因两端的互补序列,以质粒pIJ773为模板,PCR扩增得到的产物为两端带有lat基因上下游同源序列的阿泊拉抗性基因,将此PCR产物称为阿泊拉抗性框,将此阿泊拉抗性框电转至E.coli BW25113/pIJ790/pGH112-lat转化子中。在质粒pIJ790的作用下,阿泊拉抗性框中两端的lat基因同源序列与pGH112-lat中的野生型lat基因发生同源双交换,使得阿泊拉抗性框插入lat基因中,得到lat基因中插入阿泊拉抗性基因(lat::apr)的重组质粒pELA。该质粒的构建为进一步构建棒状链霉菌lat基因插入阻断的突变株,从而实现克拉维酸产量的提高奠定了初步基础。     

Prevalence and evolution of drug resistance HIV-1 variants in Henan, China

To understand the prevalence and evolution of drug resistant HIV strains in Henan China after the implementation of free antiretroviral therapy for AIDS patients. 45 drug naive AIDS patients, 118 AIDS patients who received three months antiretroviral therapy and 124 AIDS patients who received six months antiretroviral treatment were recruited in the southern part of Henan province. Information on general condition, antiretroviral medicines, adherence and clinical syndromes were collected by face to face interview. Meanwhile, 14ml EDTA anticoagulant blood was drawn. CD4/CD8 T cell count, viral load and genotypic drug resistance were tested. The rates of clinical improvement were 55.1% and 50.8% respectively three months and six months after antiretroviral therapy. The mean CD4 cell count after antiretroviral therapy was significantly higher than in drug naive patients. The prevalence rate of drug resistant HIV strains were 13.9%, 45.4% and 62.7% in drug naive patients, three month treatment patients and six month treatment patients, respectively. The number of resistance mutation codons and the frequency of mutations increased significantly with continued antiretroviral therapy. The mutation sites were primarily at the 103, 106 and 215 codons in the three-month treatment group and they increased to 15 codon mutations in the six-month treatment group. From this result, the evolution of drug resistant strains was inferred to begin with the high level NNRTI resistant strain, and then develop low level resistant strains to NRTIs. The HIV strains with high level resistance to NVP and low level resistance to AZT and DDI were highly prevalent because of the AZT＋DDI＋NVP combination therapy. These HIV strains were also cross resistant to DLV, EFV, DDC and D4T. Poor adherence to therapy was believed to be the main reason for the emergence and prevalence of drug resistant HIV strains. The prevalence of drug resistant HIV strains was increased with the continuation of antiretroviral therapy in the southern part of Henan province. Measures, that could promote high level adherence, provide new drugs and change ART regimens in failing patients, should be implemented as soon as possible.     

Genome Identification and Expression Profiles in Response to Nitrogen Treatment Analysis of the Class I CCoAOMT Gene Family in Populus

Biochemical Genetics - Lignin is essential for the characteristics and quality of timber. Nitrogen has significant effects on lignin contents in plants. Nitrogen has been found to affect wood...     

Structural characterization and biological activities of a new polysaccharide isolated from Morchella Sextelata

Glycoconjugate Journal - Morchella is the famous medicinal fungi in the ascomycetes. In this study, a new water-soluble polysaccharide (MSP-3-1) with an average molecular weight of 2.35 × 107...